


How to Make Three

by cato_universe



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Female Gavin Reed, Female Upgraded Connor | RK900, First Kiss, Getting Together, Gwen Reed is a single mom, Idiots in Love, Kid Fic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, fem reed900, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24854071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cato_universe/pseuds/cato_universe
Summary: Ellie's mom deserves the world. Sadly, her mom doesn't seem to understand what that means.orGwen and Nines get together, as seen through the eyes of a child.(She might have helped them a little).
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 6
Kudos: 100





	How to Make Three

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a clue. This is 100% TJ's fault, for making all of that fem g9 content. 
> 
> Here's my contribution.
> 
> Also, super shout out to the lovely Church for giving me the title of this fic! It would never have been posted otherwise (I suck at titles lol). Thanks so much! <3

If there was one thing little Ellie Reed was sure of, it was that her mom was the single coolest, most amazing person in the world.

In her eight years of life, plenty of people had tried to convince her otherwise. Her classmates, for one, and some of her teachers. Ellie’s mom worked a lot, so whenever it was her grandma that attended her school events —with was definitely not _all_ the time, her mom had been there plenty of times to see Ellie win a race or a poetry contest— she _knew_ that someone’s parent would look at her with pity, muttering things about moms that weren’t there for their children.

They were wrong.

Ellie hated them, and they were all wrong.

Her mom was there for her _always_ , they were a team, and Ellie had never felt lonely— not when she had her mom and her auntie Tina and her grandma and her books.

She was little, but if someone had asked her if she was happy, she would have said yes without hesitation. Yes, except perhaps for wanting a cat and the fact that her mom seemed completely uninterested in dating.

“Why would I need anyone else when I have you?” Gwen had said the first time Ellie had asked, and proceeded to tickle her until Ellie had been in tears, she’d been laughing so hard. “I love you, baby girl.”

“Love you too, mommy,” Ellie had answered, cuddling up to her mom, because it was true. However, even then she’d been smart enough to understand it wasn’t the same. You could love one person and then love someone else, and it didn’t mean love got smaller because of it.

However, much to her frustration, her mom seemed to know absolutely no one that Ellie could see as a potential boyfriend or girlfriend. Auntie Tina was already married —and she was her auntie, so that would’ve been gross— and all the other people her mom worked with were…boring. More importantly, her mom didn’t ever look at them. And Ellie didn’t want her mom, who was the coolest, most amazing person in the world, to end up with someone she didn’t like.

“You cannot control these things, kiddo,” her auntie Tina told her when Ellie vented her frustrations one day she was sleeping over. “If it happens, happens. Don’t worry about it.”

Which was not a satisfying answer, but it was not like Ellie could do anything about it even though she wanted to.

This is why Ellie was paying attention when Gwen started to talk about this Nines person.

At first, Ellie was confused. Nines sounded more like the name of a cat, and the way her mom talked about her made Ellie think she might be one.

It was an android.

An android that was infuriating, according to her mom. And had incredibly beautiful eyes.

And Ellie, because she was of the firm opinion that being eight didn’t mean she had to be dumb, waited. She was dying of curiosity, so much she vibrated with it, but as time went by it became obvious that this mysterious Nines person didn’t neatly fit in any category in her mom’s life. It was the first time Ellie had seen her mom so _emotional_ over someone, and because she was not dumb like Cole, who had meddled in his dad’s romantic life and was still grounded for it, Ellie bid her time.

The day Gwen took her to the station —which she hated to do, Ellie knew, but it was one of those times that it couldn’t be helped— Ellie was so excited that she was literally jumping. She held her mom’s hand, barely able to stand still, looking around with interest, trying to find the mysterious Nines.

When a cool and calm voice called from behind them, “Detective?” and Ellie looked up, she knew this had to be Nines.

The android was tall, taller than her mom, her dark hair perfectly tucked behind her ears. She was wearing a black shirt with a high neck, but although her expression was severe, she had the most beautiful eyes Ellie had ever seen.

“Hey, Nines,” her mom greeted, and Ellie blinked, looking up at her mom with renewed interest, recognition of something she could not quite understand tingling at the edge of her mind. “This is my kid. Ellie, this is Nines.”

“Hi!” Ellie piped up, grinning up at the android, and kept on grinning even when the android didn’t return it, her LED only whirling yellow in answer.

“Nice to meet you, Ellie,” Nines answered at long last, and it was very awkward, but Ellie couldn’t help but pick up on the way her mom looked amused, so she beamed in the way that made her grandma tell her she was too sly for her own good.

“Reed!” Captain Fowler yelled from across the room. Her mom cursed —which Ellie wasn’t allowed to do until she was an adult and had _reason to_ — and turned towards Nines.

“Sorry. Could you please watch her for 5 minutes? I shouldn’t be long,” she asked. And then, surprisingly, she babbled, “If you’re uncomfortable I can find Tina, I don’t want you to think…” which was weird because Ellie had never heard her mom talk like that, like she was nervous.

Nines, however, stopped her.

“Detective,” she said, LED still whirling yellow. “It’d be an honor.”

Gwen’s face shifted, and when she smiled, Ellie knew what was it that was familiar in her mom’s expression.

She _knew_.

“Thank you,” Gwen told Nines, voice gentle.

They stared at each other for a moment that was entirely too long, and they were both a little stiff when they managed to look away from each other (Ellie did not roll her eyes _at all_ ).

Despite this, the way Gwen transferred Ellie’s hand from hers to Nines’ was easy, trusting. Gwen ruffled Ellie’s hair as she left, and that was one of the many things Ellie loved about her mom. She trusted her. She didn’t have to tell her to behave for Nines, because Ellie already knew. She knew her job was important to her mom, so she was going to behave.

She grinned.

Mostly.

“You _do_ have beautiful eyes,” she said, looking up at the android. Nines startled when Ellie talked to her, but that was because she had been staring after Gwen, eyes full of something Ellie was not too young to recognize. “Are you in love with my mom?”

The noise that came from Nines reminded Ellie of her grandmother’s old computer, the one she refused to get rid of despite both Ellie’s and Gwen’s exasperation.

“Let’s go to the break room,” Ellie soothed, trying to copy her mom’s reasonable voice. “Auntie Tina always gives me a donut when she wants to bribe me.”

Nines blinked, and for the first time she truly looked at Ellie. It was a look that assessed her—like she was trying to figure her out— and Ellie stood straighter, wanting to measure up to Nines’ judgement.

“That’s pretty advanced vocabulary for an eight year old,” Nines pointed out, voice neutral, but allowed Ellie to lead her by the hand towards the break room.

“I read a lot,” Ellie shrugged, climbing into a stool to peer at the box of donuts. “Also, my mom’s a cop and being a kid doesn’t make me dumb.”

Ellie wrinkled her nose at the donuts —all the good ones were gone— and instead she pulled the stool towards the kitchen counter, standing on it so she could reach the secret cookie stash.

Through all of this, Nines looked at her, LED whirling and whirling and whirling.

Ellie had already settled back down at the table with her prize when Nines talked.

“All right, Miss Reed,” voice serious. “What do you want in exchange for your silence?”

Ellie giggled, cheeks flushing because Nines was treating her like an adult, and she was indeed very pretty. “Ice cream!” she demanded, and then, because she was her mother’s daughter after all. “And I want to paint your nails.”

“I’m afraid that can’t be done before your mother comes back.”

“You can come over Sunday,” Ellie smiled, trying to sound adult. “We can go get ice cream with mom, and _then_ I can paint your nails.”

Nines blinked once and then again. Her LED whirled red on her temple as Ellie smiled, as angelically as she knew how.

“Don’t worry,” she reassured the android. “Mom is in love with you too.”

Gwen’s footsteps saved them from more awkward silence. Joyfully, Ellie threw herself into her mother’s arms, giggling, feeling entirely too satisfied with herself.

“Everything okay?” Gwen asked, a little alarmed. Safe in her mom’s arms, Ellie looked back, grin growing wider when she saw Nines. The android was staring into space, her LED a solid red, and it was shining so brightly that the red light almost made her look like she was blushing.

“Yep! Nines and I made a deal, so she’s coming over this Sunday to play,” Ellie explained to Gwen.

Gwen raised her eyebrows. “Oh? A deal, huh?” she asked, but it was directed at Nines.

“Yes. I believe…” Nines trailed off. There was a strange expression in her face as she looked at Gwen, as if she had never seen her before. ”I believe I have been outsmarted by an eight year old.”

“Ah,” Gwen chuckled, looking proud. “Well, don’t feel too bad about it.”

“Nines promised ice-cream,” Ellie informed the room at large, and Gwen looked at Nines, her smile dimming a little when Nines didn’t immediately answer.

“Yes,” Nines said, suddenly and clumsily. “I…if that’s okay?”

Gwen smiled, that soft expression that Ellie so loved, and hugged her mom, pretty happy with herself.

* * *

Sunday was great.

They ate ice-cream, and went to the park, and they walked together, the three of them.

Nines was weird, in a very android sort of way, but Ellie liked her. She liked her because her mom laughed at everything she said, and Nines looked at her like there wasn’t anything as important in the world.

Ellie approved.

She approved because she thought the same, and the coolest, most amazing person in the world deserved someone that also thought she was the coolest, most amazing person in the world.

Ellie was peering through the window when her mom and Nines kissed in the kitchen, hid in the bushes to squeal and giggle and text her auntie Tina that her mom and her new girlfriend were K-I-S-S-I-N-G…

And then, when she went inside, her mom’s face was red, but she was beaming. That night, the three of them made dinner together, and Ellie pretended not to notice when they would steal a kiss behind her back.

Nines was still there when Gwen tucked Ellie in bed.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you did, cuddle bunny,” Gwen said, poking Ellie over the blankets to make her squirm and giggle. “Thank you,” she whispered, tucking Ellie’s hair behind her ears.

“Mommy?” Ellie asked. She was exhausted, the day having contained too much excitement for such a small child, and her eyes were droopy as she called to her mom.

“Mmm?” Gwen asked, hands smoothing Ellie’s covers.

“Are you happy?”

Gwen paused.

“Yes,” she answered in the end, voice full of emotion. The way she was looking at Ellie was familiar, full of love and adoration, and Ellie loved her back as much.

“Then, does that mean we’re keeping Nines?” she yawned, eyes heavy.

Gwen chuckled. “What do you think, baby? Would you like us to keep her?”

“Yeah,” Ellie mumbled, barely awake. “Let’s keep her.”

A pause.

“We’ll do that then,” Gwen’s voice said, gently.

Happy, Ellie turned over in bed. Even as she drifted into sleep, she was already looking forward to the future: more ice-cream, and Nines there, making her mom smile. Maybe she’d like books, and she’d like to read together.

Maybe, tomorrow Nines still would be in the kitchen, and they’d make breakfast together.

Maybe they could be a family.

The three of them.

 _Oh_ , Ellie realized, in dreams. She hadn’t yet gotten to paint Nines’ nails.

“Tomorrow,” a composed voice said. It was not yet familiar, but it would be soon.

Distantly, Ellie heard her mom chuckle and felt a soft kiss pressed to her forehead before she fell asleep.


End file.
